Police: Shooting last week was gang-related

A shooting Feb. 22 in South Seattle was gang-related, according to a police report released Friday.

The shooting happened about 7:10 p.m. in the 3000 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South. A man was shot in his right arm. A responding officer, who heard the shots while responding to another call, reported the victim was with four other witnesses when he was shot.

The victim, who survived, was taken to Harborview Medical Center. The four witnesses were taken to Seattle police headquarters and interviewed by members of the gang unit, which took over the investigation.

The idea that victims and witnesses shouldn’t cooperate with police is a nationwide problem – and increased, police say, in 2007 after rapper Cam’ron told CBS’s “60 Minutes” he wouldn’t talk to police if a serial killer lived next door. He issued an apology later, after widespread criticism.

That credo has hindered Seattle homicide investigations. The Jan. 4, 2008, gang-related shooting of Allen Joplin was witnessed by more than 100 people at a packed dance, but the crime remains unsolved. Police have said the Nov. 23, 2008, shooting of Nathaniel Thomas at Vito’s Madison Grill was gang-related. But witnesses haven’t given police what they need to recommend charges.